Everton have been linked with a transfer swoop for Celtic's Canada World Cup right-back Alistair Johnston
Celtic's Canada World Cup right-back Alistair Johnston
Celtic's Canada World Cup right-back Alistair Johnston
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Everton are in desperate need for a right-back – arguably two – but what could Canada World Cup star Alistair Johnston potentially bring the Blues?
A report in the Daily Record states that they understand Celtic are braced for a big money bid landing from Everton for Johnston and while an official offer is yet to be received, Hill Dickinson Stadium chiefs are now preparing to make their move with the player aware of the interest.
The piece adds that Johnston has been a smash hit for the Hoops following his £3million move from Montreal in 2022, but while he was a major miss for most of last term after suffering a serious hamstring injury last October, he returned to play a key role as Martin O’Neill’s side completed a domestic double.
Additionally, it is said the Celts are hoping to keep Johnston for at least another season – with his contract running until 2029 – but the 27-year-old’s stock is soaring after a string of impressive displays for the Canucks at this year’s World Cup, where they were co-hosts along with the USA and Mexico.
Right-back, of course, remains the Blues’ long-running problem position. Kenny Tete could have filled the void last summer but after a U-turn, he decided to sign a new deal at Fulham instead.
Ahead of the winter window closing, David Moyes admitted that the club had been actively searching for a new right-back for a year. Nathan Patterson came close to leaving before the winter window closed and despite featuring for Scotland in the World Cup, he remains surplus to requirements having seen team-mates such as Ben Godfrey and more recently, Jake O’Brien, selected out of position ahead of him.
Combine that with long-serving club captain Seamus Coleman departing after 17-and-a-half years and Everton’s need for a new recruit has grown even greater.
Johnston, who has been capped 63 times for Canada since making his international debut as a substitute against Bermuda on March 25, 2021, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 8, 1998. That was five days after Walter Smith’s Everton recorded a 2-1 comeback win over Wimbledon at Selhurst Park through goals by Danny Cadamarteri and Duncan Ferguson, despite still having failed to score at Goodison Park under the former all-conquering Rangers manager.
After playing his youth football in Canada, Johnston crossed the border to play college soccer in the USA for St John’s Red Storm and then Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the same university that Jack Harrison, who spent two seasons on loan at Everton between 2023-25, turned out for before the winger was selected as number one overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.
His senior career was initially a slow burner as he spent five seasons at Vaughan Azzurri, a semi-professional team in Ontario, before spells in Major League Soccer with Nashville SC and CF Montreal ahead of making his move to Celtic on New Year’s Day 2023. In total, Johnston has made 122 appearances for the Glasgow giants, scoring seven goals.
When it comes to the 27-year-old's playing style, Comparisonator shows a two-way tie between ‘playmaker back’ (a technically gifted full-back who builds play from deep and wide zones, acting as a distributor rather than a runner), and wing back as he scores 6.8 out of 10 for both. He is then rated 6.1 as a two-ways full-back and 5.2 as a defensive full-back.
In terms of current Premier League stars, Comparisonator’s Similarity search throws up 91% scores for both Jayden Bogle of Leeds United and Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur while Johnston is deemed an 88% match against Trai Hume of Sunderland.
We can also use Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer Tool to correlate Johnston’s statistics in the Scottish Premiership last season against those playing in his position in the English top flight.
Applying league weights, positional difficulties and team quality, the Artificial Intelligence team finder names Everton as one of seven Premier League teams from last season where Johnston would be deemed a better fit than their incumbent right-back, along with Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers as he is given a slightly higher A.I. Suitability Weight of 185.86 compared to Jake O’Brien’s 184.14.
Here is a breakdown of how he fares in various categories...
Physical
When it comes to total distance covered per 90 minutes, Johnston would be way down in 26th place with an average of 8.628km in a category topped by Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace on 10.642km while James Garner and O’Brien, who played in that position for Everton average 10.307km and 9.326km respectively. The Canadian is a bit more rapid across the turf though as he covers 108m per minute, which would rank him fifth among Premier League peers behind leader Timothy Castagne of Fulham on 116m.
Offensive
As you might expect for someone playing for a team as dominant in their division as Celtic, Johnston can average a figure of playing in at least one scoring attack per 90 minutes, which tops Premier League leader Matheus Nunes of Manchester City on 0.82. His average of 0.14 assists would place him third behind Nunes and Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber who share top spot in England with his 0.71 shots putting him ninth in a section topped by Manchester United’s Amad Diallo (1.93) but he only comes in 19th for successful dribbles (0.57), a category again led by Amad (2.07) who in truth is more of a winger.
Defensive
With a score of 76%, Johnston has a higher percentage of successful defensive actions than Premier League leader Curtis Jones of Liverpool on 72% while for context, Everton’s James Garner comes in at sixth on 66%. Only Mats Wieffer of Brighton & Hove Albion (1.32) makes more interceptions in the opposition half than Johnston (1.14), while his 2.57 clearances per 90 minutes would place him third in the Premier League behind Ola Aina of Nottingham Forest (2.61) and Munoz (2.59).
Alistair Johnston's successful defensive actions percentage in the Scottish Premiership last season compared to Premier League players in his position
Alistair Johnston's successful defensive actions percentage in the Scottish Premiership last season compared to Premier League players in his position
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Passing
Johnston’s figures for both passes (53.43) and successful passes (44.29) would place him fourth in the Premier League behind respective leaders Dominik Szoboszlai (64.31) and Jones (56.83). His distribution from wide areas is not as strong given that while he’d come in sixth for crosses (2.86, behind leader Porro on 4.97 and Garner in third on 3.3), he drops to 12th for successful crosses (0.86 with Porro again in front on 1.67 and Garner fourth on 1.1).
Everton have been crying out for a new right-back who is a natural in the position for a long time and if they did land a World Cup player they could perhaps be forgiven for the wait. While Johnston appears to be at the peak of his powers, as the Blues have seen with Patterson, it’s a big step up from the Scottish Premiership to the Premier League and there could also be question marks over the Celtic man’s past injury record.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising an industry leading 378 different parameters. Click here for more details.